Top of the Class
by Angelikah
Summary: If Theodore Nott and Hermione Granger were books, they would be about the same subject, or at least share a shelf. After all, both of their stories are about a highly competitive person who just met their match. Both cannot cope with losing at anything, but only one can achieve the number one spot. And it will never occur to them how little it matters who wins.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **This story has been running around in my head forever and I'm really looking forward to writing it out. I should warn you (if you're reading this) that my update schedule will be _very_ up in the air. I will probably update sporadically, but it eventually will be finished. I hope. I am putting this bit (the prologue) as well as the first chapter up today. It's Rated T for now, but it might change eventually, depending on the situation. We'll see how it goes from here.

I should also say that this story's ship is a rather neglected pairing (as all my stories that aren't about James and Lily are likely to be), Hermione Granger and Theodore Nott. This story is AU Post-OotP (Theo isn't a Death Eater - in fact, we don't actually know who he is), and I really wanted to do something with the Prefect system that's a little different. Enjoy :)

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**The Prefect Meeting (Prologue)**

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Hermione sat in the Prefect lounge, trying to ignore the noise and immerse herself in the advanced Transfiguration book she checked out of the library the day before. She only wished she had read it before her Transfiguration O.W.L., but for the moment, she was trying to distract herself.

She gave up after about three minutes of trying to concentrate, and was interrupted before her dark thoughts claimed her by a voice at the front.

"For the love of Merlin, come on people, quiet down. We need to get a lot done today."

Partricia Stimpson, the Head Girl, was trying to reign in the Prefects from the after-exam glow, but was having little success. She finally boomed over the noise, "Oi! Quiet guys! We need to nominate and elect next years' prefects and heads!"

Almost everyone in the room quieted, and their neighbors almost immediately shushed the ones who didn't. Roger Davies was ready at the chalkboard behind Patricia, waiting for her to get through their agenda.

"All right prefects, first I would like to congratulate the fifth years for surviving their first year on the team, and thank the seventh years for their great help, particularly this year with the whole Umbridge business."

There was a quick smattering of applause, and Patricia continued, "The time has come for the end of year nominations. The agenda today is to nominate and vote on the new heads out of our sixth year prefects, or any particularly outstanding non-prefects as well as the new fifth year prefects. However, I would like to remind you that we have lost two prefects from our number. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were part of the so-called 'Inquisitorial Squad,' and sadly had to surrender their badges last week."

Patricia did not look like she thought this was particularly sad at all, and Hermione was sure the feeling was universal throughout the room.

"I would like to begin by nominating the new Slytherin prefects for the rising sixth-years. After that we'll move on to the rising fifth-years. Any nominations? Pucey, you first."

Adrian Pucey stood, "I would like to nominate Tracey Davis for the new position. She's a nice girl, and she is quite popular with the younger years. She also tutors incoming Slytherin third years, and sometimes fourth years, in Ancient Runes."

Roger Davies wrote Tracey's name on the blackboard, and consulted his list of eligible students. "She's seventh in her year, and the second-ranking Slytherin," he announced.

"I second the nomination," Hannah spoke up.

Hermione knew that Pansy and Daphne had made Hannah's life very difficult for the past year. Hannah had been determined to take points from any older student bullying the first and second years, and while she had mostly succeeded, it cost her the neutrality she had earned with most of the older students. She was probably hoping to keep Daphne from obtaining the position.

Cho Chang then nominated Blaise Zabini. He was ranked number twelve overall, and the fourth ranked Slytherin. Cho justified her choice citing his common sense and her theory that he would be open to listening to the younger years if they had problems. She nudged Eddie Carmichael, who was seated next to her, and he quickly seconded.

_Hmm. If another male student, is ranked higher, they should at least be nominated._

"Who are ranks one and three?"

Patricia consulted her sheet, "Er, Ted Nott is first, and Daphne Greengrass is third."

"Granger's got a point. Well, does anyone know anything about Nott?"

Cormac McLaggen stood, "He seems a bit dodgy, keeps to himself a bit. But I don't think I've ever seen him have a single public row with anyone. I've actually personally given Zabini a few detentions here and there, though if I remember right, they were mostly for snogging in broom closets. Although, that does say a bit about what kind of role model he would be."

"Oh right, McLaggen, as if you're the paragon of chastity."

"Chang, that's out of order."

Cho shot Roger Davies a particularly filthy look, which was reciprocated whole-heartedly.

_Well, that's a relationship up in flames._

"Actually, I don't think Nott's had a single detention I can remember. I remember cataloguing the records with— with Cedric last year, and I'm pretty sure his record is spotless," stuttered Keith Summerby.

"Hermione, do you remember if he's in Malfoy's gang?" Ron, who hadn't been paying attention until she spoke, asked.

"Er— I don't think so, not that I can remember."

"Right then. I nominate Nott."

After Ron had sat down from his nomination, he spoke under his breath, "Zabini's an idiot. Asked Malfoy if he thought Gin would put out for five galleons right in front of me."

Hermione quickly seconded.

_Idiot, indeed._

"Any other nominations? Alright then, Tracey has the badge. Votes for Zabini?" Patricia asked, immediately businesslike.

About a third of the prefects voted for Zabini. Nott got about half, including both Roger and Patricia, and the others abstained.

"Right, Nott it is. Next years' new prefects?"

Hermione nominated Colin Creevey immediately, and after some grumbling from Ron about 'hero worship' he seconded. Katie Bell nominated Ginny, and McLaggen countered with Demelza Robbins (for reasons that were unclear). Ron was made to abstain, but Ginny still swung her vote easily. There was a quick vote regarding whether Luna or Katherine Bundy should receive the female Ravenclaw badge, which Katherine won, despite glowing testimonies by Hermione and Ron. The others were quickly nominated and passed uncontested. "The heads for next year? Remember, you can't nominate or second a motion for yourself, but you are free to nominate others even if you're in the running."

Janet Peasegood (a Hufflepuff) won by a narrow margin against Katie Bell, and Eddie Carmichael won by a landslide against Cormac McLaggen, who sulked until the end of the meeting.

The meeting was quickly dismissed with a warning about telling other students who the new prefects were. Hermione grabbed her bag, and dragged Ron out of the lounge.

"I'm worried about Harry." Hermione said as they walked down the corridor.

Ron just shrugged, "Well, I reckon he'll be really angry and blame himself, but it's not as if he won't come around. I'm just brassed off that Dumbledore is forcing him to stay at the Dursley's again. It just makes absolutely no sense. You-Know-Who has his blood now, so why would the blood wards still work? Seems a bit dodgy to me."

"I never really thought about that. I suppose I just believed what Professor Dumbledore told us. Perhaps I should ask him about it. But, then again, he'd probably just make some excuse. As I was saying though, Harry is going to be furious with himself this summer. We need to send him letters and reassure him that it's not his fault, and that we care."

"Er, I guess so. Once he visits us he should be fine, I reckon. I hope he can come before his birthday, though. Are you coming to Number 12 this summer? You said your parents are going to some Muggle teeth meeting, yeah?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Dental Convention, yes. And I should be there after the first two weeks of the holiday. I'm so worried about my exam results, I just _know_ I missed-"

"Number eleven in the Charms Theory, and that you botched the part where you had to turn the stuffed bunny into a live one and back. I know. It'll be fine, Hermione. I promise. So, visiting?"

"Er, well, I'd rather not subject myself to the Number 12 Cleaning Extravaganza for the summer. I guess- I mean- it would be nice to see you and everything, but my parents and I haven't seen each other since last summer. I miss them. Maybe near the end, I don't want to drive to King's Cross. We'll have to leave early, and I don't fancy rush hour traffic."

Ron changed the subject, obviously trying to hide his disappointment – and to spare himself the lecture explaining precisely what 'rush hour' was. Though Hermione most likely knew he had no idea what she was talking about, he knew better than to ask directly. "Alright Hermione. I reckon it's time for us to check on Harry. The Express leaves tomorrow, and I haven't started packing yet. He probably hasn't either, come to think of it."

"Right. Do you need any help?" Hermione asked, as they were arrived at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

"Nah, you'll just try to get me to fold all my clothes and organize them by color," Ron joked.

Hermione just rolled her eyes.

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**A/N:** Review if you want (it helps me get better), and sign up for alerts if you want to read more, because as I said my updates will probably be few and far between until I get rolling. :)  
Thanks for reading!  
-Angie


	2. An Unexciting Year - Hopefully

**An Unexciting Year. Hopefully.**

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"Hermione, there's another bird at the window. It's raining out there and the poor thing is soaked. I'll just let it in, shall I?"

"Yes please, mum!" Hermione yelled down the stairs. She dropped her (very heavy) book on her bed, and in an effort to get to the bottom floor as quickly as possible; she slid down the banisters, skidding into the kitchen, completely breathless. Her mum was calmly rinsing the dishes for the dishwasher.

"Are those my O.W.L. results?"

"For the thousandth time, I wouldn't know what those would look like. Just take it from the bird before it leaves a present on my counter."

"This isn't the thousandth time, mum!"

"Oh, you're right, it's only the five-hundredth."

"Mum!"

"Well, what am I supposed to say when every time you get a letter you pitch a nervous fit and ask me if your results have come in?"

"Well, first off, you're supposed to look at the address for me so that I don't pitch a fit. Then, when I finally get them, you comfort me after I find out that I failed everything, and I can't work anywhere but as a janitor at the Ministry, where I won't have enough money to buy any books, ever."

"Stop being overdramatic, Hermione. Even if you got all F's we would still love you."

"Wizards don't grade on that scale, mum. The closest to that is a D for Dreadful," Hermione replied, absently untying the note from the leg of the very wet owl. It glared at her balefully before flying out the window again. She felt somewhat guilty for praying that the letter wasn't from Ron, Harry, or Ginny.

**Miss H. Granger  
Third Floor Suite  
Number 13, Chestnut St.  
Poole, Dorset**

_Well, fuck. _

She tore the letter open, and ripped out the parchment. Ten Outstandings, and one Exceeds Expectations. Well, Astronomy was botched for everyone anyway. It was a good thing the results were combined with the year's grade, because otherwise it probably would have been lower. Definitely better grades than she thought she would get. She was _sure _she didn't do well with the stupid bunny question. Why did it matter if the bunny got aggressive and tried to attack the examiner. It was still a _bunny_ no matter how much of Madam Marchbanks' finger it bit off. Luckily, it hadn't seemed affect her grade. She scanned the page again, looking for anything she missed, and then the sentence stared her in the face, as though taunting her.

**You are ranked second in the class. Congratulations.**

_What. The. Bloody. Fuck. Was. This. Nonsense._

Class standing was usually determined by average score, and not by number of classes, because if a student took fewer classes then they shouldn't be penalized for a lighter workload.

Fifty-four divided by eleven. That's a 4.9 average. Unless someone got all Outstandings, there was no way anyone could have beaten her. Who in her year could possibly achieve that?

At least she could take anything she wanted next term. Astronomy was never all that helpful anyway, and now that she'd taken the exam for Muggle Studies, it seemed silly to continue it. They were allowed seven classes for sixth year. She supposed she'd have to talk to Professor McGonagall and see if she couldn't have eight. Should she drop History? Well, Binns never teaches anything useful anyway (relatively). And then there were the electives…

"Hermione?"

She looked up from the paper she had been staring at for goodness-knows-how-long, "Yes, mum?"

"What were your results? Are you going to be a janitor at the Ministry?" she teased.

"No. I got ten Outstandings and an Exceeds Expectations in Astronomy, but I'm not going to take that anyway."

"Well, good for you, dear. Are you still going to visit your friends tomorrow? We're leaving on Thursday, so you're welcome to stay a bit later if you want to."

"Er- No mum, it's alright. I want to see Ron, Ginny and Harry. I'll just floo over to the Burrow tomorrow. Would you mind helping me pack?"

Mrs. Granger gave Hermione a look that clearly indicated that she could pack perfectly well all by herself. However, the time she spent with her daughter was very precious. She shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, after all.

The weeks spent at the Burrow were as enjoyable as they always were. She arrived in the middle of a heated fight between Ginny and her mum (which she later found out was about Fleur), and was quickly unpacked in Ginny's room. She got to hear all about Dean, in fact she felt like she had heard every single story three times or more, and was interrogated about Ron (and was also apparently in denial about liking him – as if).

Once Harry arrived, the atmosphere was a bit more somber, but he seemed to be doing better emotionally every day. Hermione and Ginny talked at length more than once about the lack of angry tantrums, a huge improvement.

Eventually, September 1st arrived, and they were given a portkey directly to the station by Professor McGonagall, who appeared hurried and stressed. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny parted ways with Harry, who walked to another compartment with Neville and Luna. As they entered the prefect's carriage, Hermione smiled slightly at Ginny's astonished face.

Prefects at Hogwarts were given a number of privileges. One of them was the Prefect's bathroom. There were two on each floor – one for each sex—which had a door inside that somehow connected directly to the dormitory of the person in question (no matter what year or house).

Another was the prefect's lounge, which hosted occasional meetings and provided a quiet place to work. The final privilege was the carriage on the Express, which was magically expanded and used for the orientation and closing meeting each year.

The compartment was well-lit with plush-lined seats and racks for luggage. It was also the first stop for the snack cart (which meant the cart was never out of items, which occasionally happened once it got to the end of the train).

After Katie and Eddie's opening words, they were split into cross-house pairs for patrol, along with the schedule. There were groans at the fact that the pairs were already picked, but everyone was assured that if two pairs could mutually agree to switch, it would be acceptable. Katie released them, after a reminder that they met on Friday to create a schedule chart, and address any concerns.

Ron seemed particularly pleased that he was paired with Hannah (as he put it, 'I could be with Corner, the twit' which resulted in Ginny firing back, 'He may be a twit, but at least he's good-looking enough to make up for it. Not a bad kisser, either' as she sauntered down the hallway, a smirk on her face) and avoided the subject of what he perceived as Hermione's bad luck.

After Ginny left to sit with her friends, the rest of the group discussed their summers. Luna was thrilled to discuss the trip to hunt the crumple-horned snorcacks, though Hermione noticed that she seemed to be emphasizing the camping trip and spending time with her father rather than the actual hunt. Neville gave a few short sentences about the plants he had raised, and then fell mysteriously silent afterwards. After noticing Harry was not going to be forthcoming, Ron jumped in and described the Quidditch games he and his brothers shared that summer, displaying a rare moment of tact.

_Hmm. That's an improvement. _

Hermione noticed the look of longing that flickered across Harry's face at the word "Quidditch" but kept her silence until she had to speak. After that, the conversation turned to the OWLs (though Luna began to read the Quibbler instead).

"So, how did that bunny question go?"

"Obviously fine, since I got an O in Transfiguration."

"And?" Neville prompted, "What about your other scores?"

"O's in everything, well, except my E in Astronomy. But it's not like we're ever going to use it anyway."

"Wow, Hermione, you got an Exceed's Expectations? That does exceed expectations, but in the opposite direction."

Hermione playfully elbowed Ron in the ribs.

"Well, how did you all do?"

"I got an O in Defense and Creatures and an E in Transfiguration and Charms. And an A in everything else except Potions, where I got Exceeds Expectation. Won't have to deal with Snape this year, will I?"

"Professor Snape, Ron"

Neville cut in, probably to save his ears of the impending bickering, "I got an O in Herbology and Defense."

"Well done, Neville!" Harry said, which got a large smile out of the other boy.

"Yeah, only an A in Trasfiguration though. I did get an E in Potions, I couldn't believe it when I got my results, I thought they switched my score with someone else's. My Gran was really pleased. And an E in Runes and Charms as well. Oh, and Muggle Studies, but you don't take that after year five."

"That's great, Neville!" Hermione beamed at him. "And you, Harry?"

"O in Defense and Charms. E in everything else, except Divination and Astronomy. I got an A in those two. Oh, and a Dreadful in History. But that doesn't really matter, anyway."

Hermione opened her mouth to insist how much it _did_ matter, but was interrupted by the compartment door opening. Expecting to see Malfoy because of the look of irritation on Harry's face, she turned around and saw Dean Thomas, who was hand-in-hand with Ginny.

"Can we sit here?" Ginny asked brightly. Without waiting for an answer she plopped down on the bench beside Luna, pulling Dean down with her.

The Express ride went smoothly after that, or as smoothly as it could go with Harry shooting Dean filthy looks when he though no one was looking and all the others tried to make conversation (rather awkwardly).

Once they arrived at the castle, and got themselves situated in the Great Hall, Hermione began interrogating Harry and Ron about what electives they were going to choose.

After OWLs, all the rising sixth years were required to choose a maximum of four "core" classes. These could include any of the original classes (Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Astronomy, Herbology, or History) or any of the year-three additions. In addition, they were required to choose exactly three elective classes. These classes were meant to be a supplement to the core classes chosen. There was one option for each of the core classes except for Divination and Muggle Studies, which were not continued after fifth year.

Before she could get more than a few sentences out of her mouth however, the sorting began. They clapped at the appropriate times, and then moved on to dinner (which involved at least five variations of, 'Ron, chew with your mouth closed, that's disgusting') and headed up to the common room, after leaving Ginny and Colin to escort the first years up. Hermione bid the boys goodnight, and headed up to her dormitory. Lavender and Parvati were giggling about something, but it was a normal occurrence, and she immediately fell asleep.

"Miss Granger, what are your class selections?"

"I'd like to take Potions, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Charms, and Ancient Runes, with the electives for the last three."

"You're not taking Defense?" Harry asked, in total disbelief.

"No, Harry. Defense is the sort of thing I could learn on my own, anyway. We get into enough trouble. And we haven't had any consistent teaching, we're probably years behind. There's no point at all."

"But—"

"Mr. Potter, if you wish to discuss this with Miss Granger at a later time, that is acceptable, however I have many more students that need their schedules. Now, Miss Granger, you know you are allowed a maximum of four core classes."

"Yes, but I really want to take Enchanting, and I can't have that without taking Charms."

"Don't you think you're overworking yourself just a bit? With prefect duty, extra classes, and the tendency to attract trouble…"

Hermione inwardly sighed, but insisted that she wished to continue with all five.

"Alright, Miss Granger. I will speak to Professor Snape and see if he is amenable to the situation. If he is not, you must drop either Potions or Transfiguration. And I feel I should inform you that I would not be disappointed in you if you drop my class. You have easily enough of a foundation for the subject that you could independently study after you graduate and take the NEWT post-graduate test."

"Thank you professor, but I'd rather take my chances."

"Of course, and you do know that the Arithmancy elective does come with an extra section in which you learn the Latin spell roots?"

"Yes, professor."

McGonagall gave her the look people give you when they think you're biting off more than you can chew, but tapped the schedule anyway and handed it to her.

_Challenge accepted._

Double Transfiguration was first period on Mondays, and as she and Harry walked to the classroom together (having said their goodbyes to Neville and Ron who both had free periods) she silently told herself that she would not drop either Transfiguration or potions by her own volition. However, if she was forced to, she would drop Transfiguration, because after first period she was free until 2:30 for Arithmancy, and if she dropped it she would have almost the whole day.

_Just as well, since Mondays are the worst day of the week._

Once she and Harry had taken their seats, they scanned the room in unison, noting who was in the class and who was not. Since the NEWT classes were available based on grade, there were students from all the houses trickling in. Ernie McMillan spotted them immediately, and after pointing out the table to Hannah, they both came over.

"Harry, d'you think you'll start up the DA again this year?" Ernie asked as he settled into his seat and busied himself looking through his bag for a quill and parchment.

"Erm, I don't know yet, I suppose I might."

"It would be great if you would, Harry. I learned loads! And anyway, after last year I don't trust the Headmaster to hire any qualified teacher anyway. Did you see the woman at the head table? She's so young. She couldn't be qualified, could she?"

"I don't know, Hannah, looks can be deceiving. Remember Professor Lockhart?"

"Obviously I do, Hermione. As incompetent as he was, being able to stare at him without it being weird for three hours a week was very convenient."

Hermione laughed quietly, and pulled out her parchment and quill as Professor McGonagall strolled into the room.

"Welcome to NEWT-level Transfiguration. This marks the beginning of a more rigorous course with much more advanced pace of learning. The magic we are going to be studying can be very difficult and dangerous. If I see anyone, and I do mean _anyone_ using the lessons learned from this class to torment or injure another student, you will be out of this class before you can say 'switching spell'. Is that clear?"

There was a murmur of ascent, and with that Professor McGonagall began the lesson. Two hours later, Hermione picked up her carefully written notes and headed up to the Library. She had a little over four hours to get started on her essay ("Please research all six of Gamp's Laws of Transfiguration, and then pick one and explain it's relevance to contemporary Transfiguration research. You will write nothing more than four rolls of parchment, and nothing less than three. Due on Friday.") and if she skipped lunch she would most likely be able to finish it.

She really hoped the year would be uneventful, and if that couldn't possibly happen (she had a feeling the chance was about 7%, because seven was a magically significant number, so hopefully it would magically make it uneventful) she hoped she wouldn't end the year dead. As Harry Potter's friend, it seemed like a more important wish every year.

_Yes. Ironically, an unexciting year would be exciting. _

When she arrived, she smiled at Madam Pince, who had always seemed to have a soft spot for her. After asking where she might find a book describing Gamp's laws in detail, they had a discussion over what "fun" book Hermione should read next. The last recommendation from Madam Pince, 'The Polyjuice Tactic' (which was about a wizard army where every soldier took Polyjuice Potion in order to obtain a more athletic body, no matter what the soldier's original body looked like), had been a fantastic novel.

After obtaining another recommendation and tracking down the Transfiguration book, Hermione settled down in her favorite spot of the Library. It wasn't the most secluded, but the tiny circle of armchairs was very cozy, and the light from the window shined down at the exact angle so as to be able to read the book and not get sunburned on her scalp.

She had hardly gotten through a few paragraphs of the novel when she felt someone next to her. She looked up to see who was disturbing her.

"Hello, Granger. I need to talk to you."

"Alright. Have a seat then."

He sank into the armchair to her right in a rather undignified manner, and his gaze on her was uncomfortable. She met his gaze head on– she was not going to be intimidated.

He was tall, and had almost no muscle. His skin was unnaturally pasty, as though he didn't spend much time outside – and when she thought about it, unless they were getting on and off the train or in Hogsmeade, she'd never seen him out on the grounds. However, his face was handsome. He had high cheekbones and his eyes were a deep brown. It was almost as though fate had decided to give him a handsome face just so he wouldn't look like a stereotypical nerd. Not that there was anything wrong with that, because she was basically the definition of a female nerd.

She opened her mouth to ask what he needed, but before she could get the words out he asked, "Do you know what exactly the prefects are supposed to do on patrol? Ours is tomorrow, and I was hoping that you would know."

A few seconds passed while she tried to work out a polite way to ask, "And you, a Slytherin pureblood, are asking me, Harry Potter's muggleborn friend, what you're supposed to do?"

She settled for saying, "Not really. We're supposed to patrol the lower floors of the castle, but our route can't be the same every time, because otherwise the students will know approximately where we are. I would read on the rules for curfew, but I don't think it'll be a problem. It's the first week back, so if anything happens, which is rather unlikely, it'll probably be a first year that got lost, or something."

"Alright then. Are we supposed to meet at a specific place to start?"

"Not specifically. How about the Prefect's lounge?"

"Sounds fine. I'll see you there at nine then?"

He walked away and she returned to the first few pages of her novel, and it took her almost two minutes to realize she hadn't registered a single word of it and instead spent the time trying to figure out why he was being so polite to her.

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**A/N: **Review if you want, blah blah blah. :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie


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